Did you know that in Ireland, 1 in 3 children experience mental health difficulties before they reach the age of 13 while 3 in 4 principals feel insufficiently trained to help deal with mental health challenges in their schools? That’s quite a striking statistic, isn’t it? 

At Sherpa Kids Ireland, it has always been important to us to take care of our children’s mental health and emotional well-being, recognise when children need mental health support and teach children to communicate their thoughts and feelings by providing them a safe and non-judgemental space to do so. That’s why we have teamed up with ‘A Lust For Life’ which is Ireland’s multi-award winning mental health charity that supports and encourages children to take care of their minds while also leading as a shining example by exposing the fact that mental health truly matters. 

A Lust For Life aims to reach every child in every primary school in Ireland and we are in full support of this. This would mean principals, teachers and special needs assistants would be trained to recognise and deal with mental health challenges in their school environment. It would also mean every child in Ireland will have access to mental health support, which we know will stand to them for life. 

A Lust For Life offers a free, emotional well-being and resilience programme for children which provides children a set of mental health tools to equip them for challenges relatable to young people. Tools such as emotional awareness, resilience and literacy are some of the few in which A Lust For Life offers. 

We believe that no child should be left behind. We believe that children deserve a better world and to be better equipped for the challenges that today’s world presents them. We understand the pressure that children are under within a fast-paced society and we are inspired to encourage children to take a breath, to listen to their feelings and to trust that we have got their back along the way. 

Mental health matters, it always has and it always will. 

By Valerie J. Deady, Sherpa Kids Ireland!